It can perhaps be seen as an unusual set of circumstances, but we get a surprising volume of calls from people who want to know their legal rights when they have tripped due to what they perceive as a dangerous door frame. What I mean by this is any raised edges in a doorway, which can of course be fairly common anyway.
If you trip, can you make a claim for personal injury compensation? Is there a claim for negligence if you trip due to a dangerous lip or rise in a doorway?
First thing – size matters!
With most tripping claims, one of the first questions to be asked is how high the defect is. In a lot of claims, anything less than an inch in height is often dismissed as something that is not a reasonably dangerous defect. This isn’t a hard and fast rule in law, but it’s certainly a rule of thumb that both lawyers and insurers often use.
You can of course easily trip on a raised edge that is less than an inch; but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is classed as a reasonable danger or defect in the eyes of the law.
Second – why is there a hazard?
Now, some form of lip is a common feature anyway, so again we need to assess whether we think this is a design defect or not. If the edge is quite clearly raised because the frame or walkway hasn’t been fitted or constructed properly, there could be a claim to make. If the area surrounding such a frame has been lowered due to tiles or carpet removal from renovation work, and there are no warning signs or safety measures in place, you could argue there is a claim there.
If it’s down to a defect that has been caused – perhaps because some edging has come loose and is raised, then there is certainly an argument that there is a valid claim to be made. It often depends on what knowledge the owner of the premises had of the defect. In shops or at work, you’d expect someone would spot it or ought to have spotted it right away, meaning the time to react and take steps to rectify the danger can be short. But in a rented house, how can the landlord have knowledge of the defect unless you report it?
In law, it is commonly down to the question of whether there was knowledge of a defect and what steps have been taken, or ought to have been taken, to prevent an accident.
What you should do
You should:
- Get medical help first and foremost when injured
- Take photos – preferably with measurement indications through the use of a ruler or tape measure
- Report the incident
- Get a lawyer
Need help and advice? Call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 today.
